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About Doug MataconisDoug holds a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May, 2010 and also writes at Below The Beltway.
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In Illinois no one needs a drivers license to operate a horse and buggy on the public roads. I do not know if Amish have gotten tickets for DUI but even if they get 3 moving violations in 12 months there would be no operators license to revoke.
In Illinois no one needs any kind of license to operate farm implements on the public roads. Farm tractors for instance. (Farm implements can not be operated on Interstates in Illinois.) There are no age requirements to drive tractors or other farm equipment. Nor do farm implements have to be registered and display license plates. The result is that you can put a ten year old kid on a farm tractor and send him off to grandma’s house by himself. Many Amish also use their tractors to pull all kinds of trailers, some rigged to carry passengers, all over the place.
For a fun drive take a spin on Illinois State Rte. 4 from Ava to Campbell Hill to Willisville some weekday. It is a very narrow, curvy and hilly route heavily traveled by cars, school buses, semis, coal haulers, farm tractors pulling trailers and horse and buggys in about a 10 mile stretch.
I used to run it almost every day in a Telephone Company van. Oh yeah, LOOK OUT FOR THE DEER TOO!

BTW, drunk “driving” is not uncommon among the Amish, and yes they can and do get tickets for it.

Especially during Rumspringa. I grew up deep in Amish country, and remember spending nights “drag racing” at stoplights. On my way home I would see two buggies side by side at intersections, waiting to race as well. If you stopped and talked to them, there was always alcohol involved.

Also, drugs. Usually just pot, but sometimes harder stuff.

In short–people are people, whom make the same stupid mistakes and do the same stupid drugs.

@ernieyeball: There’s that interstate cutting down from I-80 towards Pittsburgh. Don’t take it if you’re squeamish about blood and roadkill.

(Deer are one reason why I approve of hunting. I just disapprove of dumb hunters who have no idea what they are doing, e.g. are shooting in my backyard at anything that moves. There’s a reason why those of us in Upstate NY consider NYC people to be idiots.)

@grumpy realist: Upstate NY??? I was born in Rochester and lived in Irondequoit and West Webster till our family relocated to the midwest in 1961. Spent several summers at the Massawepie Boy Scout camp in the Adirondack’s near Tupper Lake.
It’s been about 17 years since I’ve been back that way. What I remember most was that winter lasted from September to about May 15th.
Don’t hunt myself. Matt’s story of deer through the windshield killing drivers is all too common where I live now. The deer live in my yard. I’m glad they have not jumped through my window yet.

@ernieyeball: i grew up in upstate too, great place to be from. deer are out of control now, not just up there. i almost bought it 2 yrs ago when a car clipped a deer and it swung around into my lane (i was on 2 wheels). i aimed for it’s lower midsection as it seemed the safest place to ride over in that nano second i had- shocker for me was it jut jumped up and ran off, apparently unscathed.

@bill: This is why I am definitely NOT a Bambi-lover. Bring back the wolves!

(We regularly had problems with the deer coming down out of the hills and eating everything in sight. Including all the pine needles. Grr. AND jumping through the fences (not over). AND turning themselves into shishkabobs courtesy of vehicles.)

It’s not the deer you see on the road that’s the problem; it’s the one right after him about to crash through your window….

@ernieyeball: Grew up in Ithaca. Am now in Chicago. Which means I get to compare snowfalls with my friends at home.

Craziest thing about the Midwest is that I constantly forget that rain == floods. Very rarely worried about floods in Ithaca–it took a huge amount of rain to present a problem. Here in Chicago? 3 inches of rain produces standing water everywhere!

@grumpy realist: Just looked at the map. I know my dad took us all, my mom and brother and sister and me, camping at Buttermilk Falls State Park. Had to be in the 50s. Also remember camping at Watkins Glen S.P. and Taughannock Falls S.P. I know we had a 56 Plymouth so I was probably at least 9 or 10 years old. I was born in 48, my brother in 53 and my sister in 55. We slept in our Sears and Roebuck canvas tent every night and cooked a few meals at the camp site. I’m sure we went into Ithaca to eat a few meals. Damned if I can remember where.
It was just too long ago…

@grumpy realist: …lived in Homewood 4 years. Two years of HS (H-F Class of ’66) and two years of Jr. College in Chicago Heights.
After commuting from the burbs to work downtown for 17 years my Dad and Mom moved into Chicago and lived there for 20 yrs after retirement.
From 1980 to 2001 I always had a couch to sleep on when I wanted to go see the Cubs.